Setting up a tarot table.

Hello folks,

I was wondering and actually I am going to a shop soon that sells all kind of things like crystals and I thought why not? But the thing is, I do not really know how to exactly set up a tarot table.

Now the basiscs I thought I could do it like this get a cloth and buy maybe some trinkets I like, or take some trinkets I have that I like.

Second thing I thought, maybe there are some things that might be good to have? And then I went to google but I couldn't find a lot. I think putting a tarot table together is the same like how to treat your cards, some don't want others to touch them others do not mind. I myself do not mind, but I would like to use this small table I have to make something nice of it.

So are there any reccomendations etc? Let me know.

HELLO MEEMAI!

I think it is individual to the reader and what they resonate with, but for me....

I have an amethyst-colored, oversized crushed velvet reading cloth, some quartz crystal clusters, a picture of Pamela Colman-Smith and two decks that sit there most of the time.
I have a quite small reading table, it's a nice wooden folding table, so not like I have a ton of space. But crystals, feathers, pictures, whatever feels right to you should do it!

I always keep my velvet reading cloth up. I have a black velvet one as well, but the amethyst crushed velvet just sets the mood for me.

My home is so small that I don't even own any table, haha.

Instead, I create the right atmosphere in my mind, I always take a minute or five to get in the right mindset (foreplay? ), I just close my eyes, call it meditation if you like. When I open my eyes, my whole house magically turned into a tarotreadersplace. Visualisation is a powerfull tool.

I just lay the cards on the floor, I love a wooden background. Or on a sheepskin on the ground.

All I wanted to say is that you don't really need anything, and there are no rights and wrongs, as long as you can get in the right mood. It is great to have a small table, specific for reading. A delimited space for your cards sounds like a great idea.

There are a number of threads on this subject, with many posts where members have linked pictures. Here's the most recent; others can be found with a search.

Some like to set a spooky atmosphere for their reading area. Others use items spiritually important to them, or ones they find beautiful. It's really up to you. Make your space both personal and comfortable.

As for me, I have a severe case of ADHD, and visual clutter makes it worse. All my decks are stored in a basket, which is kept on a shelf with their books and two reading cloths...one is a tiny cloth that's only three cards wide. (Silk sari fabric can be excellent for making bags and cloths!) My reading area is a tray that I can move to wherever I feel like sitting (indoors or out), and most of the time, I skip the cloth. Usually, the only items on the tray are the cards themselves; having other items there is simply too distracting to me. But once in a while, a couple of favorite crystals will join me for a reading.

And of course, if you journal or write up readings for others, you should have that handy too.

Marirowana said:

My home is so small that I don't even own any table, haha.

Instead, I create the right atmosphere in my mind, I always take a minute or five to get in the right mindset (foreplay? ), I just close my eyes, call it meditation if you like. When I open my eyes, my whole house magically turned into a tarotreadersplace. Visualisation is a powerfull tool.

I just lay the cards on the floor, I love a wooden background. Or on a sheepskin on the ground.

All I wanted to say is that you don't really need anything, and there are no rights and wrongs, as long as you can get in the right mood. It is great to have a small table, specific for reading. A delimited space for your cards sounds like a great idea.

Click to expand...

Exactly I have just a small room, but I have atable I curently do not use a lot and I think I will try to sweeten it up a little. I mean I got perfumes on it now but I can put those in the bookshelf instead. It was a table I originally bought for buddhist trinkets.

if you think you'd quite like to read for the public eventually a small hourglass is good, a 15 minute one and/or 1/2 hour one.

For your own, maybe incense or candles, nothing scented for the public
Doodads more depend on your own beliefs. You might like a statue of greenman or christ,
woowoo crystal balls or a natural rock that means something to you...
the sky is the limit really, many members here just lay out cards on their beds, willynilly

I think the key is to not let the accessories outweigh the weight of the reading.
We see that in a lot of table photos too....tarot is about the inside, not the outside.

welcome to AT, I love new members, they are fresh

Meemai said:

Hello folks,

I was wondering and actually I am going to a shop soon that sells all kind of things like crystals and I thought why not? But the thing is, I do not really know how to exactly set up a tarot table.

Now the basiscs I thought I could do it like this get a cloth and buy maybe some trinkets I like, or take some trinkets I have that I like.

Second thing I thought, maybe there are some things that might be good to have? And then I went to google but I couldn't find a lot. I think putting a tarot table together is the same like how to treat your cards, some don't want others to touch them others do not mind. I myself do not mind, but I would like to use this small table I have to make something nice of it.

So are there any reccomendations etc? Let me know.

Click to expand...

I have several places to read all throughout the house, but not a dedicated table.In the living room, I have a large coffee table that's great for reading because it's in the middle of 2 sofas that face each other. Sometimes I use the dining room table.Most often, a side table by my computer desk is what I use for online readings, but I also use it for writing, and making jewelry so I have to clear it and put stuff on to read when I need it.... Here are a few images of what I have used when using the small side table for reading.

AJ said:

if you think you'd quite like to read for the public eventually a small hourglass is good, a 15 minute one and/or 1/2 hour one.

For your own, maybe incense or candles, nothing scented for the public
Doodads more depend on your own beliefs. You might like a statue of greenman or christ,
woowoo crystal balls or a natural rock that means something to you...
the sky is the limit really, many members here just lay out cards on their beds, willynilly

I think the key is to not let the accessories outweigh the weight of the reading.
We see that in a lot of table photos too....tarot is about the inside, not the outside.

welcome to AT, I love new members, they are fresh

Click to expand...

Gehehe I just wanted to create my own kind of table that looks interesting but at the same time indeed has trinkets I like. I was thinking of adding something that are important to me or look pretty to me, so I guess I will just do that. Thanks, I just want to have a nice table which looks like nice for me and that I can use to do tarot, but also maybe for my buddhism incense. So those are very good tips thanks! I am glad you like new members because I want to fly under the wings of older members. A Carthage statue of Hannibal would be awesome but sadly no one sells those, but Carthage is important for me. Hehe.

Disa said:

I have several places to read all throughout the house, but not a dedicated table.In the living room, I have a large coffee table that's great for reading because it's in the middle of 2 sofas that face each other. Sometimes I use the dining room table.Most often, a side table by my computer desk is what I use for online readings, but I also use it for writing, and making jewelry so I have to clear it and put stuff on to read when I need it.... Here are a few images of what I have used when using the small side table for reading.

Click to expand...

Cool cat! And I really like it how you make something nice of the little place you have!
Thanks for sharing your input!

My table is actually a puppy cage that my cat slept in as a kitten. I covered it with scarves that people keep giving me (even though I do not wear scarves) and to make the top stable There is a hidden corkboard which happened to be the right size. I set it up as a place to put my little TV and to store my purses inside. But it became a reading space and now I've got candles in colored vases, feathers I have collected, a few rocks from my collection that I especially like, a tiny (toy?) pot I found where I put my assortment of tumbled stones. When I am not using it I keep my whole card collection on it which is just three tarot decks and two oracle. I have some random trinkets as well. I am a big fan of trinkets.
Oh my amethyst cluster, and a crystal ball that I never use; my uncle's wife randomly gave it to my mother when I was a child and always wanted it. I decided it goes well with my decor so I took it.

I think putting whatever feels special to you is best. Anything that you are drawn to or that lends a special atmosphere.

Meemai said:

I was wondering and actually I am going to a shop soon that sells all kind of things like crystals and I thought why not? But the thing is, I do not really know how to exactly set up a tarot table.

Click to expand...

In every new age shop I've read out of over the years (three), they've all had the space set up. They all supply tables, chairs, tablecloths. One had me in the corner with an elaborate water-feature and rock salt lamps. The place I read in now has a heavy velvet tablecloth (Always have heavy cloths, so they don't ruck up every time you move cards around!), a little doohickey on the table with a black tourmaline on it, a chunk of amethyst on the table, and a little side-table with some other stones in a carved wooden bowl.

I bring in my Travelling Reader's Kit which includes my Chinese Rat, a candle-holder and candle, an hourglass and a velvet bag of ... er ... secrets plus the five decks clients will get to choose from. So I personalise the space a lot. Readers in there on other days don't personalise it at all, I notice.